How to Use Call Center Services to Create a Happy Customer

The happy customer is one who doesn’t contact the company very often, is more likely to make additional purchases and tell their friends why your brand is better than others. If you rely on the call center to ensure customer satisfaction, are you also focused on customer happiness? A recent Huffington Post (News - Alert) article explored how your call center services could play a big part in increasing customer happiness.

The Post piece is an interesting one in that it doesn’t offer its own insight into the topic, but instead asked the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to participate in the answers. The question was, “What is one creative way that businesses can use a call center to improve customer happiness?” Their answers are sometimes simple, sometimes complex, but all worth consideration.

One simple answer was to be available. This is an important point for all companies relying on call center services. If your agents aren’t available when customers need them, they can’t create happiness. Now it is a challenge to be sure an agent is available at all times, but the tools do exist to make this happen. And, even establishing a 24x7 approach can go a long way toward improving relationships.

One response is both simple and complex: throw out the script. Of course, scripts are put in place for a reason, but the question is whether or not they get in the way of driving that satisfaction customers need to remain loyal. Without a script tying them to a particular response, the agent can turn a passive customer into a fanatic before a service is even complete. If the agent fits your culture well and you empower them to make decisions based on what will generate happiness for the customer, why not allow the freedom to do so?

Another response is less focused on how to handle the call that comes into the center and more on how to develop relationships with those outside. In other words, picking up the phone outside of the outbound campaign and checking in with the customer. GoDaddy.com does this with clients on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter if you have hundreds of dollars invested with them on a regular basis or just $50 in a one-time purchase, the company will set its agents loose to make calls and check in on customers to be sure they’re doing well and ask if they need assistance. This proactive approach to customer care is golden.

As one participant explains – just have a human being answer the phone. This personal touch is important for the caller on the other end of the line. They want to make that connection and know that someone cares.